How to Have a Moving Sale

Having a moving sale is a great way to de-clutter and get rid of things that you don’t really need. It also lightens the weight of your move so you can save money on moving day.

You have more things than you need, and all of your extra stuff is taking up space in your basement, attic and garage. If you’re planning a move, it’s the perfect time to get rid of some of those extra items.

Holding a moving sale can help you earn extra money to fund the move. It can also make the move easier by reducing the number of things that you have to pack and transport. Holding a moving sale does require a bit of planning and preparation, though, if you want the event to be successful. These tips can help.

Increase Your Earnings by Selling Small Items Online

If your goal is to earn the most possible money for your items, a moving sale may not be the best possible venue in which to sell some things. If you sell items on websites such as eBay, you can offer those items to a wider audience — many of whom are collectors.

A collector may pay top dollar online, for example, for a vintage video game that would only fetch a few dollars at a yard sale. If you begin your moving sale preparations well in advance, you can get the best possible prices for your more valuable items by selling them online.

Save the rest for your moving sale. Use eBay as a research source for helping you determine appropriate prices for your items. If an item sells for a high enough price to justify the effort of listing and shipping it, sell it online. If it doesn’t, sell it at your moving sale.

Choose a Moving Sale Location With Plenty of Traffic

Do you live in the country? Your own yard or garage may not be the best venue for a moving sale. If you have a family member who lives in a higher-traffic area, ask if you can hold the sale at that person’s house instead.

Reduce Stress by Organizing and Pricing Well in Advance

Begin going through the rooms in your home and looking for items to sell well in advance of the sale. Once you’ve finished looking through a room and placing your unwanted items in a “Sell” box, research the values of those items online and determine your asking prices.

Remember that websites like eBay receive millions of visitors per day. Buyers compete against one another and drive prices up quickly. People go to a moving sale expecting great deals. If you really want to clear out your unwanted items, price them to move.

Use Groups, Bundles and Grab Bags to Sell Bulk Items

As you prepare items for your moving sale, group similar items together. Categorizing your items will make it easier for you to create appealing displays.

Do you have many small items such as books and CDs? Set individual and bulk prices.

For example, you might offer CDs at $1.00 each or $5.00 for six. Sell very small items such as stickers, baseball cards and action figures in inexpensive grab bags for children.

Do you have a matching set of four patio chairs that you’d like to sell for $50 each? Offer a price of $150 to anyone willing to buy the full set.

Prepare Yourself for Haggling

Pricing items for a moving sale is a difficult task. A large portion of your customers will want to haggle for better prices, so it may be wise to set prices that are higher than what you’re actually willing to accept. If your prices are too high, though, some people won’t bother haggling at all.

Is negotiation not your strong suit? If the thought of haggling with customers causes anxiety, display a sign telling your customers that all prices are firm and that you’ll be discounting unsold items at the start of each day.

If people want your items badly enough, they’ll pay your sticker prices. Some will come back the next day with the hope of snagging even better deals.

Increase Your Earnings by Selling Refreshments

Are you holding your moving sale during the summer? Buy some cans of soda and bottles of water, keep them on ice and sell them during your moving sale.

If you’re holding the sale during the cooler months, sell coffee and hot cocoa instead.

Selling refreshments during a moving sale is a great way to encourage customers to linger, chat and browse.

It’s also a good way to keep your children busy. You can even give the profits to your kids as a way of thanking them for helping out during the sale.

Confirm That Your Moving Sale Plans Are Legal

Some cities have laws governing yard and garage sales. Check your local laws well in advance of the planned sale date.

In some areas, a garage sale may violate local fire safety codes. Your community may have laws about sign placement. You may even need to apply for a permit before you can hold the sale.

Set a Date — and Advertise Like Crazy

Set a Date for Your Moving Sale

Opinions differ about the best possible day on which to hold a moving sale, but most people agree that you should run the sale for a few days if you can.

Start the sale on a Thursday or Friday morning, and end it Sunday evening. You’ll catch the people on their way to work in the morning, and you’ll also catch the weekend bargain hunters.

It’s best to hold the sale during a period in which the weather is agreeable. People are less likely to go to yard sales when there’s a foot of snow on the ground.

Advertise Your Moving Sale Online and Offline

Advertise the sale both online and offline. Online, Craigslist is the best website on which to advertise to locals — but you can also find websites devoted exclusively to yard and garage sales.

Offline, your local newspaper is a good advertising venue. Newspapers are strapped for revenue and typically have very affordable advertising rates — but don’t advertise too early. If you do, many of the people who see the advertisement will forget about it.